Hundreds of cancer patients have been left stranded for two weeks now while seeking treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital after the hospital’s only radiotherapy machine broke down.
The Linear Accelerator (LINAC) Elekta machine broke down over two weeks ago, forcing patients to leave the hospital without the treatments they desperately need.
One of the patients, suffering from cervical cancer, revealed that she was forced to go back home, despite undergoing pain.
''I am suffering from stage four cervical cancer, and I have been told to go home and come back on Tuesday because the machine has broken down,'' the patient told journalists.
Patients have remained hopeful of receiving treatment after being sent home last week, with hospital officials instructing them to return this week.
''I asked them to issue me with a transfer letter to allow me to travel to Texas since the machine is not working. However, the doctor refused to issue the letter, directing us to come back today, saying that the machine would be fine, but that's not the case," another patient decried.
Patients are now fearing for their lives as delays in treatment put them at greater risk, knowing that cancer does not wait and requires urgent, uninterrupted care.
That was the only operational machine in the facility after another machine broke down six weeks ago.
Previously, the hospital had acknowledged that the machine had broken down, promising patients that efforts were underway to ensure it was restored.
In a press release issued by the hospital on Tuesday, the facility’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Dr William Sigilai, noted that the machine is currently out of service but assured the public that swift measures had been taken to mitigate disruption in oncology services.
“We recognise the critical importance of uninterrupted oncology services, and we immediately activated referral protocols to safeguard patient care,” Sigilai stated then.
The patients now hang on a thread, as the hospital directs them to go back home and wait for phone calls for when to show up for radiotherapy.
